7/30/09 5:44 PM EDT

Kay Bailey Hutchison's gubernatorial roll-out isn't going as smoothly as she would have liked.

First came the confusing signals about when/if she plans to step down from her Texas Senate seat -- and now this slight but embarrassing story from the Austin American-Statesman, via POLITICO's Beth Frerking.

Apparently, KBH's team set up her new Website standbykay.com to auto-generate catchy phrases that would appear on the home page, word-slaw like "celebrating texas" and "protect our environment." source code based on searches done about Texas politics.

The problem was that if someone (like a blogger) right-clicked on the site they could see the generated searches in the source code. They were mostly benign -- but also contained edgier ones like "rick perry gay," a reference to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, KBH's opponent in the GOP primary.

[CORRECTION: I originally reported that the phrases could be seen on the homepage. Not true, according to KBH's campaign, which says the string of search terms could only be accessed by delving the page's hidden, but readily accessible, source code.]

Hutchison’s campaign spokesman, Jeff Sadosky, initially said he’d look into the matter. He later issued a statement that didn’t indicate how the phrases landed on the site, but said they weren’t condoned and would be removed.

Sadosky said: “We did not know these offensive word associations were being searched for by hundreds of thousands of Texans everyday nor do we condone the computer-generated existence on our Web site. They will be removed promptly.”

6/14/09 6:06 PM EDT

Somehow this managed to slip under the radar on Friday: Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison tells backers she's running for governor and has the nifty letterhead to prove it.

There was little doubt she was running against incumbent Rick Perry, but Hutchison's campaign dashed off a fundraising letter last week (picked up by the Dallas-Ft. Worth NBC affiliate that includes for the very first time: "I'm running for governor."

The email:

Dear Friend,

Our campaign is off to a great start! I am overwhelmed by the enthusiastic support from all across the state and we are excited for the next phase of the campaign to begin.

I'm writing to you today to ask for your help because I believe we can do better, and I want you to be a partner in our campaign.

I am running for Governor because Texas must prepare for the future. I am running because I believe it is conservative to demand results and hold government accountable - with integrity and responsibility.

As I travel the state, people have expressed frustration with the current leadership in Austin. They tell me the Governor is putting his personal political agenda in front of the agenda that will move the state forward. And you know what, I agree with them.

We find ourselves at a crossroads. People from all parts of Texas feel it is time for a change in Austin.

Paul, in a video post on his Campaign for Liberty PAC, says the secession debate "is worth a discussion:"

"[Perry] really stirred some of the liberal media, where they started screaming about: 'what is going on here, this is un-American.' I heard one individual say 'this is treasonous to even talk about it.' Well, they don't know their history very well, because when you think about it ... it is very American to talk about secession. That's how we came in being. Thirteen colonies seceded from the British and established a new country. So secession is a very much American principle. What about all the strong endorsements we have give the past decade or two to all the republics that seceded from the soviet system? We were delighted about it."

The libertarian Republican says "right now the American people are sick and tired of it all."

Gallup disagrees — reporting that Obama has averaged a 63 percent approval rating in the first quarter.

Paul netted only 5 percent of the vote in the 2008 Texas GOP presidential primary. His tallies in other states ranged from zero to 25 percent, and he did best in small-population western states with strong libertarian movements.

4/17/09 8:37 AM EDT

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, looking tan and rested on MSNBC last night, offered his support to Texas Gov. Rick Perry — who suggested the Lone Star State could secede over the Obama administration's tax policies.

The Hammer seemed sympathetic to the secession cause but dismissed the idea as, basically, a media-stoked lark.

"This is a governor standing up for his state," DeLay told an incredulous Chris Mathews, who looked neither tan nor rested. "Texas was republic when it joined the union by treaty" — adding that Texans could vote to nullify the treaty forcing the "U.S. Senate" to "kick us out" of the union.

When Mathews exploded — invoking 600,000 Americans killed in the Civil War — DeLay reassured him that "No, no they can't secede" but reiterated the legal argument for the state to assert its "sovereignty."